Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele, asked on Thursday whether his party would have to jump on the health care reform "train", responded that he was a cow on the tracks trying to stop it.

The strange analogy came at the end of a Fox News exchange in which Steele denied that Republicans were giving in on reform.

"The feeling in some circles is that this health care train has left the station with the president at the wheel, and Republicans better jump on board," the host said.

"Well I'm the cow on the tracks," Steele responded, as his interviewer laughed. "You're gonna have to stop the train to get this cow off the track to move forward."